Lifting and portable moving iron



March'28, 1944. J' c, CHENETTE I 2,345,381

LIFTING AND PORTABLE MOVING IRON ,oii inal Filed June 5. 1940 IN VEN TOR E- 5 3266;); a amaze.

Patented Mar. 28,

. UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE v 2,845,881 ammo sun roarsnns movmo mom Joseph c. Chenette, rm m Mich. Original application June 5, mo. Serial No.

ssaus om and this 4, 1941, Serial No. 405,377

application August Claims. I 280-61) This invention relates to raising and transporting devices in general and more particularly, concerns carrying irons with casters, which atford portability, for moving heavy cumbersome household articles not provided with convenient hand holds and having leg or cabinet bases.

Heretofore in moving displays in stores, or efters; the provision in a moving device, as above described, of an elongated cushioned bearing member adjacent the upper end thereof preventing localized pressure upon a small area'of the 5 article to be moved.

A further object of the present invention is the provision of a rubber sheathed lifting and moving iron, for articles of the class described, of the self-standing rollable type having a pair of support hooks, one laterally disposed adjacent the lower extremity for-reception of flat or cabinet base type articles, and a second support hook alsolaterally disposed in a plane normal to said I first hook and spaced thereabove for reception the article was merely to be moved around; for of'leg type articles.

example, in a store or display room'it was also a back breaking job to bend down, get a hand hold around the base of the article and then carry it to a new location, especially if the article had no legs, and was of the so-called flat or cabinet base. type, or in which the moving quarters were cramped byvother closely adjacent articles or walls. In myprior issued Letters Patent No. v2,178,738, of November fl, 1939, for Carrying iron, there is illustrated a rubber sheathed lifting iron for picking up such articles with comparative ease and facility to the operator without danger of slipp e or marring the finish thereof. The shortcoming of the scope of the device disclosed in my prior patent is that it was limited to use the present invention is an improvement ther'eover in that leg type or cabinet base articles of Fig. 4 is a second elevational view at slightly the type described may be raised and-rolled upon casters with ease. This application is a division of my co-pending application Serial No. 338,849, filed June 5, 1940.. for Lifting and portable moviang1 aligns, now Patent No. 2,274,918 dated March the provision of a completely rubber sheathed carrying iron which may be used for moving leg or cabinet base articles; the-provision of a carrying iron, as above described, having, one or more hooks or bearing members adiacent the lowerper end thereof providing ease of movement of Further and other objects and advantagespf this invention reside in the novel combination and arrangement of parts, to be hereinafter described, when considered in conjunction with the go drawing forming a part of this specification and pointed out with particularity in the appended claims.

In the drawing like reference characters denote corresponding parts throughout the several 25 views, and in which: r

I"igs. 1 and 2 are two elevational views of a lifting and moving iron of one form the invention may assume, including casters and pivotal I handle means adjacent the upper end thereof; :--'30an.d a on leg type household appliances such as stoves. furniture, ranges, refrigerators, etc. Accordingly,

1 Fig. 3 is an elevational view of a modified form a of aiming andmoving iron having a single hook adjacent the IOWCLeIld thereof and. a rotatable handle upon the upper end thereof.

reduced scale of the modified lifting and moving iron shown in Fig. 3.-

In the drawing the lifting iron shown in Figs. 1 and 2 incorporates the features and advantages of the device described in my identified co-pend- Among the objects of the present invention is ing application, plus the added convenience of castered feet aflording mobility without carry-- ing, and a combination of bottom hooks permitting pick-up of either leg or flat base type arti- -4s cles. In this instance the self standing lifting iron, generally designated", is comprised of an upright elongated angle iron II with a right 'angle bend upon the lower end thereof forming a foot or hook 22 having anuptumed outer end so 22a, which aswill' be explained hereafter, is used for leg type articles, Adjacent the lower end of the upright iron fl, and spaced laterallytherefrom proximate the opposite ends of the hook 22, are a pair of rubber wheel casters, each mountan article to be moved in cramped or close quara- 5s ed thereto by a swlvelabie horn." which makes turning corners.

v the lifting iron self-standing and portable. In-

termediate the distance between said caster wheels and welded to the hook end 22 is a depending hook 25 substantially parallel to the floor level and spaced slightly thereabove. Upon either side of the hook 25 are spring steel strips 26 proiecting above the length of the hook and adapted to be bent down and pressed upwardly tightly against the underside of an article supported, by the hook Iii. It will be apparent that if one, of a total of four, of the portable moving irons drops into a slight depression along the carriage way load supporting face pressed firmly against the under edge of the supported article.

Upon the upper end of the upright standard oi angle-iron ii at right angles thereto is welded a laterally disposed elongated bearing member 2| having a semi-circular curved pressure face enabling the iron to be presented at various angles to the-work without danger of marring the finished article; and the member due to its large area distributes the pressure over a safe. area so as not to crack a porcelain enameled surface. Laterally spaced from the upright angle-iron II and welded to the bearing member 28, by a suitable Journal 30, is a swingable handle member 3| normally disposed at right angles to thebearing member 28 to accomplish an initial lifting function and swingable down into the plane of the upright iron to provide clearance when moving in close quarters and As in my-previous lifting iron constructions, this carrying iron has all the exposed surfaces sheathed in rubber so that only the rubber coating is seen when the article is viewed as shown.

The use and operation of the portable carry- .ing iron 20 is as follows: The lower hook is used .for supporting flat basearticles and the upper hook 22 is adapted to be wheeled under leg type articles. Each of these operations presupposes, of course, that the operator secure a hold upon a cut-out section of some portion of the base of the article, or if none, tip it slightly and slip the iron thereunder. After a purchase has been obtained upon the article and that section raised slightly oil the floor, with his free hand the operator rolls the hook end II of another castered truck thereunder. The operation is repeated for three corners of the article when it will be supported sufiicienttly rigid and to hold the last corner oil. the floor and a castered mov-'- 'ing iron placed thereunder. Once the article is supported by the castered irons under each corner thereof'it may be readily pushed and moved about the floor, and when in close quarters such as. a hall or stairway the lateral handles 3|, which would normally prevent convenient clearance space, may be swung down out of the way and passage effected.

Inthe carrying iron shown in Fig.3 there is shown a modified lifting hook and'rotatable handle arrangement, otherwise the .component parts are the same as the carrying iron shown in Figs. 1 and 2 and correspondingly numbered.

In this instance the upright standard II has a foot and 31 welded thereto, while a caster arwhich contacts the article to be lifted. At the opposite end of the upright standard 36 a lateral bearing arm 28 is welded normal thereto, as in the previous construction, but on a separate hollow sleeve member 44. In this instance, however, the handle 43 is rotatably secured upon the upper end of the-upright standard 36 by the integral hollow sleeve member 44 supported by a bearing ring 45 thereon and maintained in plac by any suitable locking member 46.

. The use and operation of this portable castered moving iron 35 is similar to the previous device shown in Figs. 1 and 2 and may be used on either leg or flat cabinet base articles by a similar sequence of operations in raising the article from the floor and lowering it onto the bottom hook 40 of'the iron placed thereunder. This lifting and moving iron is likewise sheathed in rubber upon all external surfaces to obviate damaging the finished surfaces of an article supported thereby.

without danger of marring the finished surface of the article, accomplishing among other things,

the objects and advantages of the invention first enumerated. However, while there has been disclosed only specific embodiments of the invention, which are for purposes or illustration only,

it is not intended fo'be limited thereby, as many formal changes and mechanical equivalents will present themselves in actual practice to those skilled in the art to which this invention relates, and it is intended to cover hereby all modifications fairly within the spirit and substance of.

this invention as defined lowing claims.

What I claim is:

1. A rubber sheathed mobile carrying iron com-, prising an elongated bar terminating at one extremity in a hooked end normal thereto, a bearing member having an arcuate outer face arranged to contact the article being carried welded vto the by the scope of the folopposite end of said bar, on the same lateral side thereof, as said hooked end, a hand hold member l extending from the opposite face of said bearing member and at right angles tosaid hooked end, a second hook member fixed to said first hooked end but= at a right angle thereto and extending oppositely to said hand hold, and an integral laterally ofi'set portion upon said first hooked end arranged to swivelly mount a pair of spaced castered wheels whereby said elongated iron is self-standing and movable thereon.

2. A rubber sheathed mobile carrying iron comprising an elongated bar terminating, atone extremity in a hooked end normal thereto, a bearing member having an arcuate outer face arranged to contact the article being carried welded to the opposite end of said bar, on the same lateral side thereof as said hooked end, a hand hold member extendingfrom the opposite face 0! said bearing member and at right angles to said hooked end.

said hand hold member being movable from its rightangle position into the plane of said elongated bar, a second hook member fixed to said iron is self-standing and movable thereon.

3. A rubber sheathed mobile carrying iron comprising an elongated balr terminating at one. extre'mity in a hooked end normal thereto, a bearing member having an arcuate outer face arranged to contact the article being carried welded to the opposite end of said bar, on the same lateral side thereof, as said hooked end, a hand hold member extending from the opposite face of said bearing member and at right angles to said hooked end, a second hooked end extending in depending relation and supported by said first hooked end intermediate the ends thereof and normal thereto, and an integral laterally offset portion of said firsthooked end arranged to swivelly mount a pair of spaced caster wheels providing a balanced self-standing device mobile thereby. I

4. A rubber sheathed mobile carrying iron comprising an elongated bar terminating at one exmember and at right angles to said hooked end, a second hook member fixed to said first hooked end but at a rightangle thereto and extending oppositely to said hand hold, said second hook member having upon one or more lateral sides thereof spring'steel strips normally raised slightly from the plane thereof but adapted to be bent'downward into'said plane upon the application of a load onto said second hook, and an integral laterally ofiset portion upon said first hooked end arranged to swivelly mount a pair of spaced castered wheels whereby said elongated iron isself-standing and movable thereon. v

5., A carrying iron for transporting leg or fiat base articles comprising an elongated bar having a combination of hooks adjacent one end ,thereof and at right angles to each other, a bearing member and a hand hold member secured adjacent the I and the upper hook for use-on leg typearticles to thereof, as said hooked end, a hand hold member 30 extending irom'the opposite face of said bearing be carried, and laterally ofiset swivelable caster means supported by said bar and upon the side thereof opposite from said'hooks vand bearing member whereby said carrying iron is self-standing and mobile. a JOSEPH C. CHENETIE. 

